DARRINGTON – A ragtag band of “gang members” listens intently as film director Erik Lobo explains how he wants them to move during a fight scene, demonstrating with fake punches, high kicks and rolling across the bent back of one of the brawlers.
Lobo pays little heed to the light rain that comes and goes and concentrates on getting some filming in before he loses the gray light of day.
The actors, some sporting chains and locks around their necks and others wielding baseball bats or clubs, pair up to practice the carefully choreographed moves that will become a battle in Lobo’s low-budget, short action film “A Homecoming.”
On Saturday, he filmed near the ruins of an old Darrington mill. Other shoots will take place in locations around Snohomish County, primarily Tulalip, Marysville and Arlington.
Lobo, 23, and his twin brother David, own Dragon Wolf Productions, a fledgling company housed in a commercial building on the Tulalip Indian Reservation.
“We started out as actors,” Erik Lobo said, working in community theater and productions at Everett Community College and the University of Washington.
The two have been interested in acting since they saw the late Christopher Reeve in “Superman.”
“That was one of the first movies we saw when we were kids,” he said. “But Mom won’t let you jump off the roof. David and I always wanted to make our own movies.”
They continually have script ideas spinning in their heads. The two support each other in their endeavors.
“My father broke us of that twin rivalry long ago, so much so that I’d be useless without him,” David said of his brother.
Erik Lobo took a scriptwriting class while David Lobo worked so his brother could go to school. Erik is skilled at plot development, while David focuses on character development.
“He’ll make a fun movie and I’ll make the characters believable,” David Lobo said.
He already has a feature-length, big-budget screenplay in his head, along with two sequels, as well as another short film and an action-suspense movie called “Fate.”
“It was kind of fun watching them come together,” said Diane Wilson-simon. “They’ve both got a lot of talent at telling stories, and that’s what filmmaking is all about.”
Wilson-simon met the Lobo brothers four years ago while they were doing community theater. Like the brothers, she wants to make films, and also started her own company, Wolf Twin Productions. She’s serving as the line producer on “A Homecoming.”
The fight scene called for actors who are agile and strong. At least six cast members – including Erik Lobo, Dana Exum of Arlington and Steve Fryberg of Marysville – are black belts in some form of martial arts. There’s also a pro wrestler and gymnast in the cast. Both of the twins have labored over the choreography of the fight scenes, working out battles carefully so no one gets hurt.
“We’re shooting on a shoestring,” Wilson-simon said. “They basically work during the summer to make enough money to do the film.”
Getting volunteers hasn’t posed much of a problem.
And brothers and Wilson-simon want to work with others in Snohomish County who want to break into films. Their long-term goal is to build a tight-knit movie community and even use local talent for the music. They want to give Hollywood companies a run for their money and do more cutting edge work.
“There are a lot of people in the Northwest who are really, really talented,” Erik Lobo said. “There are a lot of people who have dreams out here. Even people who don’t have a lot of training bring a lot of good stuff to the table. It’s an untapped resource.”
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